“Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told to them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.” Luke 2:17-18
Have you ever wondered why God’s choice of the first to know about the Christ Child’s birth on Christmas morning were the poor shepherds of Bethlehem?
The divine irony of the Angel’s invitation is that Shepherds, at the time of Jesus, were the Black Sheep of society. They were homeless, dirty, smelly, uneducated, and unwanted men who toiled alone without families to care for them. If you had a friend or family member who was a shepherd, you certainly wouldn’t invite him to your house on Christmas day as the honored guest for the divine birth of your first-born son.
But that’s exactly what God did! My message this Sunday at RiverTown will uncover God’s reason for placing “shepherds who were black sheep” at the front of the line to meet Jesus.
2015 BUDGET BLAST
Our year-end Christmas giving campaign is going to be the most exciting and practical opportunity we have ever offered. You’ll be able to bless both with RiverTown and a third-world Shepherd at the same time. As a church family, we are only $14,000 behind in our year-to-date budgeted tithes from church members. For every $1,000 we give together toward meeting our budget goal, Samaritan’s Purse International will receive the money to provide a wool-bearing sheep and train families how to care for their flocks in a third world environment. Our goal is to give at least 14 sheep through this Christmas effort.
CHRISTMAS EVE
We’ve just confirmed that the Johnathan and Lisa Moore band and guest speaker Rev. David Howle will be our guests for our candle-light Christmas Eve service at 7pm.
Merry Christmas,
Pastor David Rathel
RiverTown Church Is Helping Samaritan’s Purse Give Sheep To Third World Shepherd Families.
